Asian cuisine is very prominent in Southern California, especially in Los Angeles, as there is an upwards number of 1,241 Asian restaurants in the area, according to Rentech Digital. The outstanding demand for Asian cultural dishes has sparked one question: What are the best Asian foods?
Tom Yum Soup
A Thai soup consisting of shrimp, lemongrass, lime leaves, mushrooms, and many tasteful spices, is a must when enjoying Thai cuisine. The sweet and sour flavors along with the adjustable spice levels pairs perfectly with any side dishes and provide a delightful experience of different textures. The name, derived from Thai, “Tom” (the boiling style) and “Yam” (mixed), are perfect incentives to try the dish, as the boiling style of the soup is highly prevalent in many Thai soups.
Dim Bhaja
A staple of Bengali cuisine, Dim Bhaja is a flavorful dish commonly paired with rice. Directly translated, it is a fried egg, but not in the way you would expect. The hard boiled egg is fried along with onions and a plethora of spices, notably turmeric, giving it an appetizing yellow color. The taste is out of this world, and it will blow you away with every bite.
Lumpia
Originating from Indonesia and the Philippines, Lumpia is a side dish/appetizer that will be gone in a blink of an eye at a dinner party. The irresistible taste of meat (mostly pork, but it can be substituted with chicken), vegetables, aromatics, and the notable fried wrapping are all paired perfectly together with a sweet sauce. Finishing one will only lead to the whole plate somehow disappearing; it’s truly a mystery as to how they are so delicious.
Ayran
Straying from food dishes, Aryan is a delicious yogurt-based drink. Said to be originated from Türkiye, it goes by a plethora of names such as doogh, avamast, and mastaw, as its popularity stretches from West Asia to South/Central Asia. The drink is made with yogurt, water, and salt all blended up into a frothy and delicious drink. Mint is often added to provide a more intense flavor. The drink itself is hard to describe, but once you have it, you’ll never look back; it’s that good.
Tteok-bokki
This infamous Korean street food is one of the best and most versatile snacks of all time. Tteok, a rice cake, is often served as a dessert, but when fried with spices and other ingredients, spicy Tteok-bokki is created. The flavors of gochujang, fishcakes, and scallions give the rice cakes their signature taste. There has been an increasing demand for the snack here in SoCal, as social media has hyped up the dish, and rightfully so. Similarly to Lumpia, once you eat one, it is impossible to stop.
With there being numerous Asian restaurants in the area, it is imperative to try out at least a handful of them. With family, friends, or maybe even a date, Asian restaurants provide amazing food that will surely satisfy everyone eating. The thousands of available dishes begs the question: What is your favorite Asian dish?
